Getting Things to the Way They Should Be
by msk1701
Summary: Part I of The Way Things Should Be. Kara and Lee begin to truly confront their feelings and each other. AU after TABFAYW.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I have no claim to BSG and its related properties. If I did, it would be a very different show.

Kara Thrace walked through _Galactica_'s corridors feeling miserable and empty. She always felt that way after returning a "reconciliation session" with her husband on the ship he was living on. Their marriage was now one in name only and they had become nothing more than frak buddies, but Kara felt that even that arrangement would end soon and she and Sam would only be connected by the piece of paper saying that they were married.

Sam had stopped being able to fulfill her emotional needs long ago. Kara was almost sure that he never had the ability to. But if he ever did have it, she was certain it stopped being enough on the morning she married him, on the streets of New Caprica when she saw the rumpled figure of a destroyed man walking towards them.

And now, Sam could no longer fulfill Kara's physical needs, either. That had never been a problem with her before with any man she had been with, even the quick, mindless fraks with no strings attached. She used to be able to get the release that she wanted quickly and efficiently, ready to go on with her day once the high had ended. But that was no longer possible, not since the night of the "dance". Now, all she did was put in a half-hearted effort in making it appear as if she was enjoying herself for Sam, but that was only possible if she closed her eyes and thought back to the night when everything seemed perfect. When she was with the one man she truly wanted to be with. The one man who wanted to and could give her everything she wanted.

That man had not been and never would be Sam.

How could Sam be that man for Kara? Sam wasn't the one who gave her a reason to push herself and discover the fullest extents of her abilities. Sam wasn't her voice of sanity; the one who knew when to let her run free and when to drag her back from the brink. Sam wasn't the one whose opinion truly mattered. Sam wasn't the one who could strip back the Starbuck persona and see and understand the vulnerable Kara underneath. Sam wasn't the one who made her face her demons and would stay by her side without a second thought as he helped her conquer them Sam wasn't the one who had been willing forget his own needs and not look back just so that he could have her in his life.

Sam was the one who asked Kara to give up her home, her family, her skills, and settle down with him on a planet run by an inept leader who never should have been in charge in the first place. That life had been anything but perfect and not a day went by when she relived memory of her rejecting her chance at true happiness in a quixotic attempt at protecting her one true love from her own insecurities. She'd all but killed him instead.

Kara couldn't think of why she went to see Sam every week. She knew that all they would do is exchange a few awkward words before he began making advances and she would go along with him before faking an orgasm, getting dressed, and returning to _Galactica_.

Why couldn't she just tell Sam "No" and end the farce that her life had become?

It wasn't because she didn't want to hurt Sam. In fact, she didn't care about him anymore. She'd belatedly realized that there was nothing between them; that there was no "us" when it came to her and Sam. They didn't have a friendship that doggedly withstood loss, conflict, and a love that couldn't be acted upon as they hurt each other and hurt together. They didn't share an unbreakable bond forged in the heat of battle. She didn't blindly trust Sam to watch her back and bring her home. She was captured by the Cylons and suffered at their hands each time she tried.

They did have an intense connection, but it had been made only because she had been at a point in her life when it seemed as if she had nothing left to lose. Then she rejoined the fleet and realized just how much she had left behind and how much more intensely she was connected to another man, one who had been to hell and back with her. But the guilt of leaving Sam behind on Caprica stayed with her and prevented her from accepting the other man's love.

She no longer thought of marriage as a sacrament in the eyes of the gods. She stopped caring about that when she tried to open herself up to the other man and saw the sad resolve in his when he walked away from her. That was when she realized how much she had hurt him every time she turned away from his love and that she had all but lost him completely.

Cutting Sam out of her life wouldn't make it emptier. With Sam gone, she could focus on trying to win the love of her life back. With Sam gone, the empty fraks would end and she would no longer feel cheap…

Then she remembered why she couldn't end it all so simply. He could still destroy her as easily as he could make her truly happy. She remembered how he once angrily called her a whore and how it had cut her deeply. Far too deeply for an insult that she had received dozens of times before and since. That was why she tried for a halfway measure when they began rebuilding their relationship after the "dance", having an affair and being unwilling to leave Sam for him while he had been willing to leave his wife for her.

But it wasn't just that. A simple word of comfort was all the man needed to say to make her troubles go away. A simple compliment or concerned comment made her feel like that she was the only thing in the universe that mattered. A stuttered comment about her knees made her the most beautiful woman out of all the remains of humanity while an insult she had heard time and time again made her the ugliest. Every smile sent her soaring while every glare and angry word sent her emotions crashing. He held her entire life in his hands and it killed her to know that he was completely oblivious to that fact. Taking the risk and trying to get him back into her life meant that she could gain everything she ever wanted and more. But it also meant that she stood to lose everything, and since the worlds ended, that meant losing herself.

At least with Sam, she knew she could handle any disappointments. Their relationship was a safe one, completely devoid of any emotional investment with no fear of losing everything…but with no hope of gaining anything.

Kara arrived at the hatch to the pilots' bunkroom. And it was not a moment to soon. She pulled the heavy hatch open as fast as she could. The façade of Starbuck that she had created to hide the vulnerable Kara was starting to break and all she wanted to do now was curl up into a tiny ball in her bunk and cry herself to sleep until her next shift. At least she could be with him in her dreams.

The hatch opened with a low moan and Kara quickly stepped inside. She could already feel her shoulders sagging and her lips trembling. Hot tears were welling in her eyes, blurring her vision. Not long now. Just a few more seconds and she could let go and lose herself to her misery. But then she noticed a blurred figure standing in front of one of the lockers and she realized she was not alone. She struggled to quickly regain her composure and tried to casually wipe the tears away as the mask of Starbuck slipped over her once more. But this time, the mask wouldn't properly fit, and that only meant one thing.

Kara looked up to see who was in the room with her, although she knew who it was before she clearly saw him. It was him. The only person who mattered to her. And before she could get her thoughts in order his name was on her tongue and coming out of her lips: "Lee."


	2. Chapter 2

Lee Adama was in the pilots' bunkroom, organizing the contents of one of the lockers when he heard the hatch groan open and someone shuffle in. He didn't bother looking at who had entered, he had his own business and he was sure the new arrival had their own. Then he heard her voice saying his name, and he had to look up and see her.

"Lee."

Kara Thrace.

Just looking at her brought memories of her hurting him bubbling back up from where he'd tried to store them away and make them disappear. How she had used him as a replacement frak in an attempt to drown out the memory of a man she'd left behind on a dead planet and angrily stated that there was nothing between them when he tried to make it something more. How she took a fleet of raptors back to Caprica and brought that man back and all but fraked the guy in front of him as he tried to introduce himself. How they spent a magical night together and declared their love for one another for all to hear, only for him to wake up alone the next morning and hear from his father that she went and got married.

Hearing how Kara had pledged to spend the rest of her life with someone else sent Lee's world crashing. He had dreamed about spending the rest of his life with her for years, ever since the two of them realized that they were attracted to one another and exchanged sad, longing looks over the head of his happily oblivious younger brother. And then, when it seemed as if he could make his dream a reality, she went and jerked it all out from under him. It sent him reeling off to impulsively marry a woman he never had any true feelings for and ended up facing the prospect of a bitter, loveless marriage.

And then there was the "dance". They hurt each other that night in the ring like never before. He put all the anger bottled up inside him into his punches as he pummeled Kara. Each blow he landed sent a jolt of sadistic glee through his body and further fueled his rage, driving him to hit harder and faster. He wanted to watch her squirm and cower away from him and hear her yelp in pain and she gave as good as she got.

Then the fight ended. Both of them were physically and emotionally spent, only staying upright because each was holding up the other. And when Kara whispered, "I missed you," it was the sweetest sound he ever heard. At that moment, a spark of their old relationship returned. They needed each other. They watched the other's back while moving in complete synchrony without needing to anticipate the other's movements. They made sure that the other always made it home, not caring about whether or not they themselves made it back alive. As long as the other lived, nothing else mattered.

They tried to rebuild and move forward with their relationship, even starting an affair, and for the first time in over a year, Lee felt complete. He had been sure Kara felt the same way. But when Lee laid it all on the line again and offered to give up what he had in order to spend the rest of his life with her, she pulled back and he decided that he wasn't going to take it anymore. It hurt too much to try to win Kara's affection. He didn't think he could handle another fall from so high. And as much as he wanted to feel joy when Kara offered to leave Sam if he left Dee, he had to walk away. He couldn't take being in a relationship where he had to constantly wonder when it all would end. At least with Dee, he would have a steady relationship, even though it was tepid at the best of times.

But his marriage was not to be. The harder he tried to make it work, the more he was reminded of his own upbringing. He grew up in a family where his father's true love had not been his mother and he had suffered the consequences of it, taking the brunt of his mother's anger and shouldering the burden of running the household, making sure that Zak wanted for very little even though he sometimes had to do without. No child deserved to go through anything remotely similar his childhood and adolescence. He had to end it with Dee before it would be impossible to back out, even though it meant being alone. There was a chance that he could never have what he truly wanted, but there was no doubt as to what he didn't want. They had finalized their divorce that morning and he had been moving back into the pilots' bunkroom when Kara walked in.

Now Lee and Kara were staring at each other and a thousand different emotions bubbled through him. There was anger; a cruel sadistic anger. He wanted to strangle her, punch her, yell at her, and take pleasure at how she would look as he destroyed her in the same way she had destroyed him on more than one occasion. He wanted to watch and wait as she would struggle to rebuild her life afterwards. He would even help her, give her hope and lead her to believe that things were okay between them before crushing her all over again. It would be a sweet, sweet vengeance.

But, there was also love. An overriding emotion that pushed all others aside whenever he laid eyes on Kara. And as satisfying if would be to strike at her heart, he would sooner kill himself than let anything, not even him, hurt her, because he knew-he was the only one who knew who the true Kara Thrace was. Only he knew the vulnerable little girl that lived beneath the tough and cocky Starbuck that was desperate to be loved.

He wanted to rush to her, hold her, kiss her, tell her that everything would be alright, share her burdens and make her pain go away. He wanted to whisk her away, take her far away from this life on the run and find a safe haven where nothing could trouble her ever again. But he knew he had to be careful. One wrong move and he would send her running to find comfort with somebody who let her ignore her pain rather than confront it. As much as he wanted to listen to his father's advice and let his instincts take over, he remembered how he'd let his anger and jealousy take over and she went and found a place in the arms of another man. He remembered how he opened up his heart and let her see just how much she loved her only to have her run off and marry that same man.

The silence between them was almost deafening as they stood there, looking at each other. He could practically see the hurt pouring from the one woman who could get under his skin and make herself at home. Lee looked into Kara's eyes and saw the depths of despair in them and saw that she wanted him to reach out and hold her and take her pain away. It was at this moment that he knew they could end up together for better or worse, or he could lose her forever. Something needed to be said, but he wasn't sure how he should articulate his feelings. Instead, he decided to start out simply.

"Kara."


	3. Chapter 3

"Kara."

Oh, gods. Lee had just called her "Kara". Ever since he'd walked away from her it had been nothing but "Captain Thrace", spoken to in a tone that rarely rose above detached civility. He'd even stopped calling her "Starbuck", not even during the rare moments where the schedule forced him to fly CAP with her. He just shortened her name to "Thrace", instead.

Now he was calling her by her name and she really didn't know how to respond. She just stood there, staring at him, hoping that he could see her pain and that he would reach out and pull her into his arms and make her feel safe in the way only he could. It was only when he was holding her that it seemed as if nothing could touch her. That she was in protective bubble.

But he was just standing there, looking right back at her.

Then he spoke, his voice a little hesitant: "Did you want to be alone? I can come back and finish this later if you want."

Be alone?

No.

That was the last thing she wanted.

She wanted him.

She needed him.

She'd realized that a long time ago. But she'd waited too long to openly admit how she felt.

Kara Thrace loved Lee Adama.

But how was she going to convince Lee that her feelings for him were for real?

She'd hurt him so many times that it seemed almost impossible for Lee to open his heart for her once again; not even to let her be his friend again. But here they were. Just the two of them. It was a place to start, at least.

Kara realized that she had yet to answer Lee's question out loud and that she was still just standing there. He was still looking at her with those blue eyes that rarely lost their intensity and with a start she became acutely aware of where she had been, what she had been doing, and who she had been doing it with. It made her feel dirty and the empty feeling that had been gnawing at her insides returned.

She couldn't be around Lee when she was like this. Lee always had a way of making her take a moment and reevaluate herself with just a look, even when he wasn't being judgmental.

If this had been under normal circumstances, she would have simply lashed out, but she had to walk on eggshells with Lee now. She'd pushed him too far this time, and she was already well aware of the sort of damage, both physical and emotional, Lee could inflict when he let go and lost control of his emotions.

She wasn't going to run away this time. Not even the gods would be able to stop her from telling Lee the truth: that her heart had been his from the moment Zak introduced them.

But the longer they stood there, looking at each other, the dirtier she felt. He probably knew where she had been. The whole ship probably knew. She had to get out of there and feel clean again before she could try to talk to Lee.

"No…no…go ahead and finish what you're doing. I'm just going to…take a shower and then get some sleep before my next shift."

"Okay."

Lee continued to look at her. Kara could feel the heat from his gaze as she moved to her locker and quickly grabbed her shower kit, towel, and clean clothes with shaking hands and walked out of the bunkroom to the head.

Lee watched as Kara collected her shower things and walked out.

He'd seen the hurt in her eyes, and the quiet pleading for him to reach out to her.

He was sure of it.

They'd been through so much together that he knew how she was feeling.

As much as it pained him to see her hurting, he had felt a twinge of joy at the look in her eye. He knew it was wrong, but he still felt it. She needed him to be there for her. Even if they ended up being nothing more than friends, the woman he was willing to challenge the gods for still wanted him to be a part of her life.

Then, she'd suddenly jerked back and the look in her eyes changed.

Was it shame?

Why?

His shock at seeing Kara feel shame made him freeze and all he could do was look at Kara leave the bunkroom. Then he remembered that today was the day Kara went to see Sam to work on their marriage. They were probably making progress and touched a nerve in the process, explaining why she'd looked so sad. Then she went and almost sought comfort in the arms of another man.

Lee mentally kicked himself. No matter how jealous he felt and how much he wanted to systematically break every bone in Sam's body, he wasn't going to try to ruin Kara's marriage. He loved her too much to let his own feelings get in the way of her chance at happiness.

As much as it killed him, he was going to step back let her be happy.

With someone else.

Although he wanted her to be happy with him.

Damn it!

He kept on trying to tell himself that backing off was the right thing to do. That anything between them would only end in tears. But he knew they could make it work. Everything felt perfect whenever they were together. Even during the times when they were at each other's throats.

How could anything that felt so right be wrong?

They belonged together, but there was nothing he could do to make it happen. He had walked away from her and she was still married and working to make it last.

Lee angrily shook his head, disgusted at himself for feeling that way. If anyone deserved to be happy with a loving and supporting spouse, it was Kara. She had been through too much in her life. The gods owed her more than a little happiness.

He quickly finished getting his locker in order and slammed the door shut. He stalked out of the bunkroom. Maybe there was a Triad game going on in the rec room.

Gambling and perhaps a bit of the Chief's home brew…

Maybe he could make himself forget his feelings.

At least for a little while.


	4. Chapter 4

Lee exited the rec room not feeling any better than he did when he entered it. All conversation had ended the moment he stepped in. Dee and he had managed to keep most of their later problems under wraps, leading people to believe that their marriage was doing fine. So, their divorce came as a shock, and word of the split traveled fast.

He could see that everyone was dying to ask him about it. Fear of being placed on head cleaning duty kept mouths shut, but Lee couldn't stay there. He'd quickly stepped out, fully aware of how awkward it would be to sit there while his subordinates danced around what had in the span of a few short hours become the talk of the ship.

Unfortunately, he was still seething at himself for almost allowing himself to take advantage of Kara. He could feel his self-loathing boiling through his body and steaming off from his tense shoulders. Driving his fist into a bulkhead or somebody's face would have felt satisfying, but it wouldn't have been conducive to his physical well being nor his standing among the crew.

A trip to the gym would be a good way to blow off some steam. He could pound a punching bag and pretend that it was anyone he wanted it to be.

He could imagine beating himself to a pulp for being such an idiot and letting Kara slip away.

Or maybe some nugget would be naïve enough to accept an offer to spar for a few minutes.

He would have to stop by the bunkroom and change into more comfortable workout clothes.

Quietly, though. He didn't want to wake Kara.

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Lee wasn't in the bunkroom when Kara came back from her shower

She'd hoped he would be.

But he wasn't there, and she was alone when she crawled into her bunk with nothing but the thoughts in her head to keep her company.

He had always been there for her when she was hurting. No matter how badly things between them were fraked up. Lee had an over-protective streak that made him simply forget about their disagreements and made sure that she was alright instead. She teased him about it and feigned annoyance; but she really did want him to protect her. No other man ever made her feel as safe as he did.

No one else had ever so doggedly and unconditionally stayed by her side through all her screw-ups.

Zak had never been able to handle her emotional side and fled during the moments she stopped being Starbuck, leaving her alone with her demons.

Sam tried to force her into talking and sharing her feelings, causing her to further withdraw into herself. He'd eventually stopped trying and left her alone to drink herself into oblivion, throwing her disapproving looks those mornings after.

The old man once put the entire fleet at risk and used almost half of their fuel reserves to search for her. But, he had made it clear that he finally had enough of dealing with her issues and the trouble she caused. They rarely spoke to each other; even on duty.

But Lee had always been there.

He knew when the problem was small. He would tease and coax her into talking.

He knew when the problem was big. He would simply sit next to her and silently let her know that he was there for her. Sometimes she told him what was troubling her, sometimes she didn't. It never mattered to him.

He knew she would tell him what was on her mind when she was ready. And when she was, he would listen.

Kara squeezed her eyes shut as she curled up facing the bulkhead and pulled her blanket tighter around her. She truly was alone now. Not even Lee was there to comfort her anymore.

Had she destroyed their relationship so much that he simply didn't care about her anymore?

Gods, there really was no chance for her, was there?

Lee had Dee now. He was with someone who loved him and didn't frak with his emotions like she did.

Was there any reason for Lee to give up his precious stable happiness for the emotional rollercoaster that was Kara Thrace?

Why couldn't there be a reason?

Why couldn't she be the person he wanted to be with?

She began to sniffle. The tears she had been holding back when she walked in on Lee in the bunkroom were welling up again and try as she might, Kara couldn't stop them from falling.

Memories of Lee pushed their way into her mind.

_I just want you to know, Kara, that I'm your friend. I love you._

The surprise of hearing him say those words made her tease him and made him walk away in embarrassment.

_Hey, what about us?_

She'd told him that there was no "us". That she just wanted a quick lay. That she was hung up on another man.

_My name is Lee Adama and I love Kara Thrace!_

She'd run away, scared. Went off and married Sam. She'd watched her clueless husband happily rub it in Lee's face. She just stood there as Lee's heart shattered in front of her eyes.

_We gotta do something about this...I don't know, like divorce._

He'd offered to give up all that he had for her. She used scripture and the gods as an excuse to push him away. That had been the last straw.

He'd stopped trusting her after that.

Could she make him see that she loved him?

That she had been telling the truth that night on New Caprica?

_Kara Thrace loves Lee Adama!_

She was sobbing so hard that she could barely breathe. Tears fell across her face and onto her pillow, quickly creating cold, salty puddle against her cheek and ear. She clawed at her blanket, balled it up and clutched it tightly to her chest as she rocked against the cold bulkhead, desperately wishing that the ball of fabric was the man she loved. She held it like she wanted to hold him: as if she was never going to let go.

_I love Kara Thrace!_

She wished she could go back to that moment and undo her mistake. She wished she hadn't run and had stayed instead. He had said he loved her.

_And I don't care who fraking knows!_

And he had meant it.

That only made her cry all the harder.

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The first thing Lee heard as he eased the bunkroom's hatch open was Kara's crying. Opening the hatch further, he saw that Kara had not closed her bunk's curtain and he could see her curled up form shaking with each sob.

He didn't think, he just moved. Kara hurting always triggered an automatic response from him. He simply stopped caring about anything else. The woman he loved was in pain and may the lords have mercy on the poor souls who were guilty or those unfortunate enough to be in his way.

Lee quickly shut and dogged the hatch before moving to kneel by her bunk.

0000000000

Kara felt two strong arms gently gather her up and pull her into a familiar embrace. One she thought she would never feel again.

She grabbed onto his tanks and continued to sob.

"Oh gods, I'm sorry, Lee. I'm so sorry…I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry…"

Kara said the next words without hesitation. It just felt right to say them and she truly meant what she said. She didn't care what happened afterwards. Lee needed to know how she felt.

"I love you, Lee…I love you so much."

And she buried her face into his chest as she felt his arms tighten around her.

"Don't leave me."

0000000000

Tears Lee didn't know he had began to well up in his eyes. Hearing Kara say she loved him…nothing else mattered now. What was left of his world could blow up all around him and he wouldn't have cared.

"Don't leave me."

Never. The only way he was ever leaving Kara was if the gods struck him down. And he would put up one hell of a fight and find a way to take as many of them with him if they tried.

He placed a kiss on the top of her head and held her closer still, listening as her sobs quieted down.

"Never…I'm not going anywhere. I love you, Kara"

0000000000

A new emotion-one she hadn't felt in a long time-joined the regret and grief already churning inside her: joy. Not only because she heard him tell her that he loved her.

Because she felt something spread from within him and into her as he rocked her back and forth and whispered in her ear, pushing all her sadness away.

She loved him and he loved her right back.

0000000000

Lee eased Kara back onto her bunk and tucked her in. He pulled back to see her looking at him with tear-filled eyes with an expression begging him not to let her go.

He gave her a comforting smile as he brushed her soft hair away from her face and kissed her on her forehead.

"Get some sleep, Kara," he whispered, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. "I'll be here when you wake up. I promise."


	5. Chapter 5

Kara awoke with eyes that were puffy and a nose that was stuffy, but those minor discomforts were forgotten when she saw Lee asleep. He was holding her hand, his head and shoulders on her bunk while the rest of his body was awkwardly hanging off the bunk and against the cold floor.

The sight brought a smile to Kara's face as she remembered all the times when Lee hovered over her to make sure she was alright. No one else had ever showed her that much concern; spending nights in sickbay on an uncomfortable chair so she wouldn't be alone; running through gunfire to help her defend a poor position; nudging her shoulder to snap her out of a funk and challenging her to chase him down to help her forget her troubles.

It was all the things he did for her without caring about himself that made Kara love Lee. They had also been the things that had made her so scared to actually love him back and run away to find something safer instead. What if he discovered just how big of a frak-up she was and decided to leave her? She had doubted if she could have ever survived something like that; not a fall from the heights Lee, even as a friend, could take her.

Tears welled up in Kara's eyes as she used her free hand to gently stroke Lee's hair. He _had_ left her. He walked away at her hesitance to fully embrace him and the bottom of her world fell out from under her. Now, he had come back to her but there was still a fear in the back of her mind that he might leave again.

Realization hit her hard once again. She had done to Lee what she had always been afraid of happening to her every time she had walked away from him. Not anymore, though. She was probably going to hurt him and he was probably going to hurt her, but she wasn't going to run away. He'd always come back for her when she needed him and she was going to do the same from now on.

"Kara…" Lee sleepily mumbled before shifting slightly and falling back asleep, causing Kara to smile through her tears. She was in his thoughts, even when he was asleep in an extremely uncomfortable position.

Kara slipped her hand out of Lee's and gingerly got out of bed, careful not to wake him. She was going to try and lift Lee into her bunk; she didn't want him to wake up with a sore neck. Her legs were on either side of his body as she got most of Lee's torso onto her bunk when his weight shifted and he slid off the bunk, pushing her off balance enough so that she fell on top of him and into his arms.

He had been awake.

Gods, she loved him.

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Lee had held his breath when he felt Kara get out of bed, afraid that she was going to leave. Her stroking his hair had awoken him. He stayed still, waiting to see if she was going to walk away. He wasn't going to let her leave him this time; at least not without a proper explanation. But he wanted to be sure. Then he felt her hands grasp him by the waist as she tried to lift him up into her bunk.

He let her lift him part of the way up to her bunk before letting his body slide down and to the side, taking her down with him to the floor. It had probably been a stupid idea. The floor was hard and Kara landing on his body was painful. But being able to wrap his arms around her and the look in her eyes…

"Hi," he whispered. They were alone, but he was almost afraid that speaking normally would shatter a peace they had not shared in a long time.

"Hi," she whispered back, giving him a beautiful smile; the open smile of an unguarded Kara who felt completely at ease.

Lords, it was beautiful.

She was beautiful.

He brought up a hand to brush a stray strand of hair away from her forehead and cup her cheek in one smooth motion. Then Kara turned her head to nuzzle his palm and Lee couldn't stop himself. He pulled her down for a kiss as he leaned up to meet her, unable to wait the moment it would take for their lips to touch.

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The first touch was electric.

They both pulled back slightly with a gasp, needing to make sure that this was indeed real. Smiles formed on their faces for a moment as their foreheads and noses touched and they came together once more, deepening their kiss.

The burning passion they had for one another flowed through them. It spread from their lips and down their arms all the way to their toes, warming their bodies, and driving them to try and get closer to one another. Hands were buried in hair and legs were wrapped around torsos as they tried to melt into the other while they slowly explored each other's mouths.

For a long, drawn out minute the sounds of rustling fabric, heavy breathing, and sweet sucks were all that could be heard in the bunkroom as Kara and Lee silently declared their love for one another.

The kiss finally broke but neither pulled back completely. Their lips still faintly touched as they savored something that both had considered lost forever.

Kara finally broke the silence as she moved in for another kiss: "This is insane, Lee."

"I thought you liked it that way."

"No…not anymore…Leave her, Lee," Kara's voice became gained confidence as she sat up to show her love that she was for real. "I'm going to leave Sam. The marriage was a sham. I never loved him. Next week, I'm going over to Sam's ship with divorce papers and he's going to sign them. I'll force him, if I have to."

"Kara…" Lee sat up as well, never breaking eye contact as he moved.

"Lee…the two of us…we belong together. I know you feel it and you know I feel it, too. I was just too afraid to admit it…I only married Sam because I thought I wouldn't be able to live if you discovered how screwed-up I am decided to leave me. I thought I was protecting you from me every time I turned away…and then you walked away from me once and…gods...and it…it turned out that I made you go through what I had been afraid of over and over again…"

"Kara...I…I can't leave Dee…"

Lee saw Kara beginning to crumble as he said those words and he knew that she meant what she said, but she cut him off before he could continue and tell her why he could not leave Dee: "Lee…I know I've hurt you so much…but, I meant it when I said I loved you. I still mean it…"

Kara's voice began to break as she became more and more desperate to prove to Lee that she was speaking the truth. That she did love him and no one else: "You're the only one I've ever truly loved, Lee…I loved you even when I was with Zak…I was telling the truth when I screamed out that I loved you that night…I'm not going to run away from this anymore…I don't want anything else…I love you…believe me…pl-"

Lee grabbed her face cut her off with a kiss. "Kara," he said, looking into her tear-filled eyes. "I can't leave Dee because she and I ended things this morning. I'm already divorced. I was moving back into the bunkroom when you walked in earlier"

Kara all but collapsed onto him in relief as they held each other tightly; both finally realizing what the other truly wanted at the same time for once with no trace of doubt. They wanted each other and no one else.

They now had each other and neither one was going to let go.

They held each other for a while longer; simply drinking in the other's presence.

Lee was the one to break the silence this time: "I left Dee not knowing if I could ever be with you, but I was willing to wait forever if I had to…because I love you and it would have been worth every minute I waited…turns out I only needed to wait a few hours."

Kara let out a laugh as she buried her face into Lee's neck.

"You missed your CAP, by the way."

Kara jerked back in surprise; embarrassed because she had neglected her duties and angry because Lee had ruined such a lovely moment.

"Relax. Turns out that Hot Dog won a 36 hour liberty pass to the _Rising Star_ in a 'secret lottery,' but one of the stipulations was that he cover a certain pilot's CAP before he left."

Kara was about to punch Lee for surprising her like that when she realized something. "Lee…where are the other pilots?"

Lee let out a small laugh as he pulled Kara back into his embrace and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Surprise survival drill in the hangar bay. They're sleeping in emergency shelters and sleeping bags tonight."

That got him a smile as they leaned in to kiss each other once more.

The two of them sat on the floor of the bunkroom, holding each other, listening to the hum of _Galactica'_s engines and the beating of their hearts. They had made a good start today. There was still so much to talk about, but that could wait a little longer.

Things were nowhere near the way they should be, but they were getting there.

And at that moment, that was all that mattered.

_Fin_

A/N: This is it for my first ever fic. It was nerve wracking to post the first chapter, but I became more and more comfortable as I uploaded each installment. I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read it and would especially like to thank those who told me what they thought of my writing. I had always planned this to be a five-parter, but it turned out that I had too many ideas to fit into five parts, so I decided to make sequels (if you couldn't tell by how I changed my story's summary on ff). Hope you'll enjoy those as well.


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